The report was released by SAMHSA’s Synar Amendment program, a federal and state collaboration to stop tobacco sales to minors.

The federal law, named after former Rep. Mike Synar, D-Okla., who spearheaded anti-smoking legislation enacted in 1992, requires every state to perform random checks to find out whether stores are selling tobacco to minors illegally. Each year the states report what percent of those checks turn up violations.

Texas’ report showed 11.3 percent violation rate. The number was just above the 9.3 percent national average and several points below the country’s highest violation rate, Maryland’s 16.8 percent.

This year every state surpassed Synar’s goal of having less than 20 percent violation rate.

“That being said, SAMHSA only encourages states to reach a lower target,” said Susan Marsiglia Gray, the national Synar program coordinator.

The states with the lowest violation rates tend to have firm youth access laws and enforcement and strong merchant education programs, Marsiglia Gray said.

In Texas, selling tobacco to a minor is a Class C misdemeanor, and minors caught trying to buy tobacco could face a fine up to $250, a mandated tobacco awareness program, eight to 12 hours of community service or suspension or denial of a driver’s license or permit for up to 180 days.

This year’s generally low violation rates could be attributed to a few things, Marsiglia Gray said. One is increased fear of legal consequences among tobacco sellers. Another may be that the poor economy is shutting down many mom-and-pop shops, which tend to have less access to merchant education and training.